About Us

Our talented teachers and staff all possess a love for art and are eager to share it with as many people as possible. With our unique art curriculum, we’ve been taking kids from the top of the class to winning awards and scholarships worldwide – as well as getting into the art school of their dreams.

We are passionate. We are fun. And most importantly, we’re here to help you.

MEET OUR INSTRUCTORS!

Sylvia Chan

Sylvia Chan

Director

Sylvia is an Award Winning Artist and Ontario Certified Teacher who creates opportunities for people to get in touch with their inner artist.

She was selected as one of Canada’s Top 150 featured artists in the first Canadian-wide Art Catalogue in 2017. Owning and operating successful community art initiatives and events, Sylvia Chan is a professional artist and educator from Markham with over 10 years of painting and teaching experience.

Sylvia paints custom original commissions to beautify home and office spaces. She is also the founder of Paint A Smile, a non-profit committed to providing art workshops for kids with disabilities, building confidence and creativity. Her goal is to inspire youth to make a difference in the community with their creativity and imagination.

Teaches: Children, Teen, Adult

Kevin Yung

Kevin Yung

Instructor

Kevin Yung is an interdisciplinary artist and maker. He graduated from York University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2013. During his time there, he developed his skills in printmaking, ceramics, castings, wood and metal work. He also has turned a lot of his skills into theatre production, including set and prop design, as well as dabbling in design and video production.

In 2014-2015, he was selected by the York Region Arts Council, in collaboration with the McMichael Gallery, as the apprentice in the Artist Mentorship Project under Bonnie Devine, then OCAD professor and Founding Chair of OCAD U’s Indigenous Visual Culture Program.

Currently, he is studying Community Mental Health at Seneca and hoping to bring his skills as an artist into art therapy.

Patricia Claro

Patricia Claro

Instructor

Patricia is a Toronto-based illustrator specializing in Character Design and Digital Art, passionate in bringing out the best in individuals. She is a graduate of the Seneca College Independent Illustration program with an Honours Diploma and has a background in Interior Design.

She loves creating portraits and designing architectural pieces. Her works are heavily influenced by people of colour, culture, history, and the environment. Her art style ranges from stylized conceptual portraits to soft realism. She possesses a broad knowledge and produces high quality artwork in both Traditional and Digital media, relying heavily on thorough research and an iterative approach for precision. She welcomes constructive feedback and is mindful of clients’ ideas, visions, and deadlines.

Besides art, Patricia has a knack for reading, online gaming, blogging and going on food-trips.

Teaches: Digital, Teens

Brian Jiang

Brian Jiang

Instructor

Brian is an emerging artist who currently studies illustration at the Ontario College of Art and Design University in Toronto, Canada. He has been drawing for as long as he can remember and started formal training at the age of 10.

During his youth, Brian has won multiple awards such as the Chinese Arts and Literacy Contest award in painting. Upon his graduation at Bur Oak S.S., he achieved the Visual Arts Award. He is highly knowledgeable in a vast range of art forms including; digital, photography, graphic design, painting, drawing, mixed media, sculpture, and illustration. His art-making process is driven by experimentation, intuition, and the desire to break conventions to create something “fresh”.

Brian strongly believes that illustration and art has the power to unite people together. He hopes to share his passion for creativity with students and to help them discover how art can enrich their lives and the world they live in.

Teaches: Children, Teens

Daniel Wedderburn

Daniel Wedderburn

Instructor

Daniel Wedderburn is an artist as well as a future teacher, specializing in various mediums such as: sculpture, painting and photography.

He is a York University graduate in both the Fine Arts (Studio) and the Consecutive Education programs. He enjoys constructing and reconstructing the human figure in combination with and in connection to dreams, memories, colour and emotion. His work is influenced by realism, cubism, and surrealism as well as physical movement. His works will vary depending on which medium best suits the subject matter he is attempting to tackle. He is very approachable and always looking for ways he can improve as he considers himself a lifelong learner. He has also gained years of knowledge working at Curry’s Artist Materials and alongside many great artists. He is a firm believer that everyone has an ability to create, and that we all see the world through unique eyes.

In his spare time, he enjoys playing sports, watching movies, and exploring the city with his camera.

Teaches: Teens, Adults

Libby St Jean

Libby St Jean

Instructor

Libby has extensive experience teaching in York Region public schools and summer sessions in Shanghai, Taipei and Tsingtao.

Her love of art in many forms has led to teaching senior students paper mache and Chinese brush painting sessions at Arts Camp. It was at Arts Camp that Libby met Sylvia Chan and eventually joined classes at Creative Genius Art Academy to refine her painting skills.

Libby believes that creating art should be relaxing, stimulating, and empowering at every age. Creating art allows her to try new techniques, build focus and communication skills, and gain pride in her own style while appreciating the styles of others.

Teaches: Children

Eric Ng

Eric Ng

Instructor

Eric is a passionate artist in traditional and media art. He is a graduate from Humber College for Multimedia 3D Animation and Game Design.

He started out as an Animator, Character Design, and 3D Artist and later transitioned into VFX for featured films. He has worked on projects such as Thor: Ragnorak, Spiderman: Homecoming, A Wrinkle in Time, and Pirates of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. He has helped many students express their creative side and shares knowledge and tips about how to approach the media arts industry.

Sophie Feng

Sophie Feng

Instructor

Sophie is a passionate young artist who is skilled at multiple art forms including; acrylic/oil painting, drawing, visual design, mixed media, and sculpture.

She has been attending art classes since the age of 4. The knowledge she gained from both Chinese and Canadian art schools gives her a widened horizon in art and a unique sense of creativity, which combines features from both the East and the West. She is enthusiastic about still life, portraits, and landscape painting. Her art style is both realistic and dreamy, which received attention in several art exhibitions in Ontario.

For Sophie, art is something that gives her a sense of accomplishment and confidence. It is something that takes her breath away in a different kind of happiness.

Teaches: Children

Samantha Chow

Samantha Chow

Administrator & Supply Instructor

Samantha is an aspiring artist from Markham who graduated from Unionville High School while successfully completing the Arts Unionville Visual Arts Program. She enjoys teaching students how to draw and doing traditional oil painting and digital art on her own time. She likes painting the human figure and doing studies of objects lying around the house. Her dream is to be a visual development artist in the entertainment industry, making conceptual art for animated feature films. Some of her favourite animated movies that inspire her to this day are; Kung Fu Panda, Rise of The Guardians, and Coco. Her love for storytelling and art drives her to create art every day and impassion the people around her.

Samantha believes in practicing creative thinking and artistic skills at an equal ratio. Great art comes from those who are able to balance their creativity with technical ability. In her spare time, she likes cooking food and spending time with her parents.

Teaches: Children

Grace Choi

Grace Choi

Instructor

Grace is an emerging illustrator and artist from Markham. She enjoys working in a diverse range of mediums, including gouache, acrylic, watercolour, graphite, charcoal, and digital art. Since the age of six, she has been drawing and attending art classes, continually developing her passion and skillset in art. She most enjoys drawing people, as well as plants and landscapes. As she continues to create art pieces, she wants to refine her artistic creativity for a career in illustration and design.

Grace values dedication and hard work in order to mature as an artist and person. In her free time, she also enjoys reading, listening to audiobooks, and journaling. She hopes to one day illustrate book covers as striking as those that she sees on her favourite novels – namely, the Harry Potter series.

Teaches: Children

Kathy Chen

Kathy Chen

Administrator & Art Instructor

Kathy is a passionate artist who currently studies at York University in the Concurrent Education Program majoring in Visual Arts (Studio). She graduated from the Arts Unionville Visual Arts Program, where she had the opportunity to develop her artistic and creative skills. At York, she is continuing her studio practices as well as working towards becoming a qualified teacher. Kathy enjoys a variety of art forms including: Drawing, painting, sculpture and mixed media. In her free time, she likes to explore digital art, specifically 3D modelling.

Kathy believes everything is a learning opportunity and that the processes of creating art should be fun and rewarding. She hopes to inspire students in all aspects of their lives and help them understand and apprecite the world in different perspectives.